Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has released “tens of thousands” of detainees; some of whom were detained during the recent anti-government demonstrations, according to state news agency IRNA on Sunday. According to rumors, the pardons were granted in honor of the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
The pardons, however, came with conditions. Among said conditions is that the amnesty would not apply to any of the numerous dual nationals held in Iran, those accused of “corruption on earth”, and those charged with “spying for foreign agencies” or those “affiliated with groups hostile to the Islamic Republic.
It is also noted that the accusation of “corruption on earth”, which is a capital charge, has already been brought against some protesters – four of whom have been executed.
Following the murder of a young Iranian Kurdish woman under the morality police’s care in September, Iran was rocked by protests. Based on observation and comparison, since the 1979 revolution, those demonstrations represented one of the most audacious threats to the Islamic Republic.
